University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Freshmen Building Foundation In Different Ways
September 26, 2007 | Football
Sept. 26, 2007
By Adam Lucas
It's not easy to make Kevin Bryant disappear.
The 6-foot-7, 375-pound freshman offensive lineman has the habit of calling everyone around him "little man," and it's a phrase he can apply to anyone short of Andre the Giant.
But as the 2007 season has unfolded, Bryant has been conspicuous by his absence. After all, didn't SuperPrep deem him "the biggest and strongest Division I-A recruit in Florida"? We know about Florida talent. Bryant was among the most physically advanced in that state. Doesn't that naturally translate to an early college role?
Not necessarily, and it's the perfect illustration of the two-prong approach Butch Davis has taken to his freshman class as he lays the groundwork for the future of his program. Bryant would make a nice foundation for a good-sized house, much less an offensive line. But while eleven true freshmen have played this year--and more could be on the way--several others will spend the season on the scout team.
"For the kids who aren't playing, this is a critical time," says Davis. "There are literally no wasted days in any of our players' lives, particularly those guys. It gives them a chance to get coached and it gives them a chance to get reps. There's a lot of similarity between the things they'll do on the scout team and the things they'll do in the future. If they run a post pattern for the scout team, we'll run a post in our offense...If any player who is redshirting or not playing sees this as a year to take off and wait to get better in the spring and earn their spot then, they've wasted a huge opportunity."
True to his preseason predictions, Davis has been loathe to play true freshman on the offensive and defensive lines--areas where they are likely to be physically outmanned by players four years older and significantly stronger. Only two rookie linemen have played, both on defense--Marvin Austin, who Davis calls "an exception" because of his preternatural size and strength, and Tydreke Powell.
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"We look for their ability to go out and do it without having to think about it," the head coach says. "We don't want their wheels spinning a tremendous amount...We're looking for speed, we're looking for football junkies, we're looking for guys who love football and have a passion to practice and have playmaking ability."
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Meanwhile, the freshman offensive line quartet of Bryant, Mike Dykes, Cam Holland, and Carl Gaskins remain firmly in line to redshirt.
"I'm using this year to try to learn our plays and get my technique down," says Bryant. "I want to get technically sound so when I get on the field I can really make a difference. I don't want to just be so-so. I need more technique now because the players are bigger. In high school, I didn't worry about technique."
For most of the linemen, this is largely a learning year. But as freshmen at every other position have learned, they're usually just a few good practices away from a spot on the two-deep. Not just one good practice, because Davis emphasizes consistency. But when young players start stringing together impressive performances, he'll find a place for them.
That's how Jonathan Smith earned a spot on special teams and how Powell earned snaps against Virginia. Most recently, it brought Ryan Houston onto the field at tailback against South Florida.
"We look for their ability to go out and do it without having to think about it," the head coach says. "We don't want their wheels spinning a tremendous amount...We're looking for speed, we're looking for football junkies, we're looking for guys who love football and have a passion to practice and have playmaking ability."
Houston was the team's leading rusher in Tampa and figures to see even more playing time at Virginia Tech. His one rushing touchdown gives him a third of the team's total through four games.
"When I was on the scout team, we kept each other from getting down," he says. "You can't look at it as a year where you're not playing. It's a year to get better. And once I got on the field, I realized how it was paying off, because everything on the field comes faster. You have to pick things up faster and read everything faster, and that's something you learn on the scout team."
Even players who haven't yet worked their way from the scout team to the depth chart have noticed the differences at the college level. Strength and conditioning can eventually solve the physical differences. Others are entirely up to the individual.
"You have to be able to react and that means studying your playbook," says freshman Linwan Euwell. "You can't take time to think. In high school, most of the time you could out-physical someone. In college, everyone is as big as you."
That realization could eventually help Euwell see game action. He plays linebacker, a position of need for the 2007 Tar Heels where the ranks have been depleted by injury.
The Pinetops product knows almost half his class has already seen action as a true freshman.
"That motivates me," he says. "I like to see true freshmen like me out there playing. Those are guys who go to practice every day and work hard. Coach Davis always talks about intensity, and they've shown him they can have that every day. I want to get to their level."
Adam Lucas most recently collaborated on a behind-the-scenes look at Carolina Basketball with Wes Miller. The Road To Blue Heaven will be released on October 1. Lucas's other books on Carolina basketball include The Best Game Ever, which chronicles the 1957 national championship season, Going Home Again, which focuses on Roy Williams's return to Carolina, and Led By Their Dreams, a collaboration with Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers on the 2005 championship team.
Players Mentioned
